Baseball-Mariners hire Scott Servais as new manager

Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Seattle Mariners named Scott Servais as their new manager on Friday with hopes the former Los Angeles Angels assistant general manager can end his new Major League Baseball team's lengthy playoff drought.

Servais, a former catcher who spent 11 years in the major leagues with four different teams, replaces Lloyd McClendon, who was fired two weeks ago by Seattle ago after failing to make the postseason during his two years in charge.

"It has long been my goal to manage a big league team," Servais, who is the 17th full-time manager in Mariners history, said in a statement.

"We have a terrific core of players and I'm looking forward to bringing in a coaching staff that will help me establish a winning culture here as we work toward putting a championship-caliber team on the field for the fans of the Northwest."

Prior to his stint in Los Angeles, where he worked on all aspects of baseball operations, Servais spent six seasons as the senior director of player development for the Texas Rangers.

The 48-year-old was also a scout for the Colorado Rockies in 2005 after spending the prior two years as a roving catching instructor for the Chicago Cubs.

Servais is Seattle's ninth manager since they last made the MLB postseason in 2001. He will take over a club that finished fourth in the five-team American League West division, 12 games back of the first place Rangers.

The Mariners consider Servais as one of the most complete, well balanced and inclusive baseball people in the game with the tools to get the franchise back on track.

"He is a communicator with strong baseball acumen and leadership skills," Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. "I truly believe his strong character and career experiences as a player, coach and executive have prepared him for this opportunity." (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)